{"id":184191,"date":"2025-10-08T00:27:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T00:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/184191\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T00:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T00:27:09","slug":"malaysias-petronas-ceo-apologises-for-singapore-gp-champagne-shower-after-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/184191\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia\u2019s Petronas CEO apologises for Singapore GP champagne shower after backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/malaysia?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Malaysia<\/a>\u2019s top state energy official has apologised after facing backlash at home for taking part in a champagne-spraying celebration at the Singapore Grand Prix, in the latest controversy over Islamic norms and the conduct of government-linked companies.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, the president and group chief executive of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), joined the podium celebrations on Sunday as the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team \u2013 which the company sponsors \u2013 clinched a win in Singapore.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">As George Russell hoisted the trophy following his victory ahead of Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen and McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris, Muhammad Taufik was seen spraying Mo\u00ebt champagne on the drivers and the crowd. Russell returned the favour, and the two later posed for photographs.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">According to Malaysian news outlet Malay Mail, Muhammad Taufik on Tuesday said while he did not consume alcohol, his \u201cexuberance may have been misplaced\u201d and he should have been more aware of the \u201csensitivities associated with taking part in such celebrations\u201d as a Muslim.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cAccordingly, I want to apologise for any unintended offence caused and take full responsibility for my actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mercedes\u2019 George Russell (second from right) celebrates on the podium after winning the Singapore Grand Prix alongside Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen, McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris and Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz. Photo: Reuters\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/47be682b-fac2-45b5-a307-3650dfd81458_33674e05.jpg\" title=\"Mercedes\u2019 George Russell (second from right) celebrates on the podium after winning the Singapore Grand Prix alongside Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen, McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris and Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz. Photo: Reuters\"\/>Mercedes\u2019 George Russell (second from right) celebrates on the podium after winning the Singapore Grand Prix alongside Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen, McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris and Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz. Photo: Reuters<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">In Muslim-majority Malaysia, where alcohol consumption is prohibited for Muslims and public religious sensitivities run high, the images quickly stirred anger online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Malaysia\u2019s top state energy official has apologised after facing backlash at home for taking part in a champagne-spraying&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[235,17551,8627,1687,372,6537,9307,27082,81476,8626,81475,81473,81474,48382,71467,10040,5386,35477,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-184191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","tag-alcohol","tag-anwar-ibrahim","tag-bahrain","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-george-russell","tag-islam","tag-malay-muslim","tag-malaysia","tag-mercedes-amg-petronas-formula-one-team","tag-moet-champagne","tag-muhammad-taufik","tag-muslim","tag-petronas","tag-qatar","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-singapore-grand-prix","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}